06-01-1999 CC RPT 21C - Laserfiche WebLink

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CITY OF RIVERSIDE Riverside ~ft4 r,rrr CITY COUNCIL MEMORANDUM People Serving People 19'!S HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL DATE: June 1, 1999 ITEM NO: 21e SUBJECT: SUPPLEMENTAL BUDGET REQUESTS FOR FY 1999-00 BACKGROUND: The proposed budget includes funding to maintain current service levels and provide limited enhancements to services and equipment as recommended by the City Manager. However, each year in the General Fund there are more requests for funding than there are funds available. Generally, significant requests for funding that involve new or competing policy directions are scheduled for consideration by the City Council following review of department budgets. The attached pages outline the presentation of our proposed strategy to address supplemental funding requests and meet some additional community needs, while being fiscally prudent. Part of the presentation will involve an analysis of a replacement fund ~or our police fleet as requested by the City Council during budget reviews last year. In summary, we are recommending the following actions which will be discussed in detail during the presentation: 1) Use the $4.5 million savings from reduced PERS (Public Employees Retirement System) rates and $500,000 of fund balance to buy down debt in the General Fund and free up $854,000 of ongoing funding for service enhancements and/or equipment purchases. It is not known how long the PERS savings will be available before rates increase, so we are recommending that it be treated as short term in nature. 2) Review the various supplemental funding requests assembled by the City Manager's Office. We have recommended several service and equipment enhancements, however, there are many other options the City Council may wish to consider. We recommend that whatever options are selected, the total cost of the options should be approximately equal to or less than the $854,000 of debt service savings. 3) Establish a policy to maintain a General Fund Balance of $5.0 million, with any amount over $5.0 million dollars being set aside in a Facilities Improvement Fund. We estimate $4-5 million can be set aside in FY 1999- 00. FISCAL IMPACT: Varies depending on approach selected. Options will be discussed during the presentation. 21c-l